Superhumans Awakening [Powers/Supers]

[AlexanderHowl]

Imagine that it is five years in the future in our timeline and a mutated strain of influenza spreads across the world, infecting 50% of the people exposed to it and killing 50% of the people that it infected by it (we will assume that 50% of the global population is exposed to it before sufficient quarantine measures can halt it's progress long enough for it to burn out). Of the people who survive, fifty percent manifest superhuman abilities after they recover their health. In effect, that would mean that the percentage of humans with superhuman abilities would go from 0% to 6.25% within one year.

What impact do you think the appearance of so many superhumans in such a short time would have on the USA? Would the superhumans be attacked by terrified mobs, condemned by religious leaders, and imprisoned by secular leaders? Would the reaction be more muted, with superhumans being accepted only if they worked for the government? Would they be accepted, despite their differences and the jealousy of many people?

[Refplace]

It really depends on how powerful and the nature of the powers, also how obvious they are or people who have powers.
Governments likely to exploit and regulate them and force DNA tests.
Workers who lose jobs powered people can do better will object.
People will blame supers who dont use their abilities to fix problems or dont do it well enough, even as they complain about unfairness.
Some fear and jeoulsy,leading to attacks on supers seems likely as well.

I have a setting where people got powers in modern times.
History
Govt Agency in USA

[AlexanderHowl]

Well, let us define the population then. 50% of superhumans would manifest more subtle abilities while 50% of superhumans would manifest more obvious abilities (more powerful superhumans would likely have more obvious abilities). 50% of superhumans would manifest 1-50 CP worth of abilities, 25% 51-100 CP worth, 12.5% 101-150 CP worth, and so on.

With the previous numbers, we would have ~20 million superhumans in the USA, with ~320,000 manifesting 251+ CP of abilities, ~10,000 501+ CP, and ~300 751+ CP. This would likely be the initial manifestation, with superhumans being able to improve their superhuman capabilities with practice and training, though that would likely be at the expense of improving their mundane capabilities. We will assume that the rules for Godlike Extra Effort, Temporary Enhancements, and Using Abilities at a Default are in effect, allowing clever and/or desperate superhumans to swing above their weight class.

[NineDaysDead]

A quick google gives 8,100,000,000 as an estimate for global population in 2025. 6.25% of that is 506,250,000.

Character points = Population in the world

1-50 CP = 253,125,000
51-100 CP = 126,562,500
101-150 CP = 63,281,250‬
151-200 CP = 31,640,625‬
201-250 CP = 15,820,312.5‬
251-300 CP = 7,910,156.25
301-350 CP = 3,955,078.125
351-400 CP = 1,977,539.0625
401-450 CP = 988,769.53125‬
451-500 CP = 494,384.765625
501-550 CP = 247,192.3828125‬
551-600 CP = 123,596.19140625
601-650 CP = 61,798.095703125
651-700 CP = 30,899.0478515625
701-750 CP = 15,449.52392578125
751-800 CP = 7,724.761962890625
801-850 CP = 3,862.3809814453125‬
851-900 CP = 1,931.19049072265625
901-950 CP = 965.595245361328125‬
951-1,000 CP = 482.7976226806640625‬
1,001-1,050 CP = 241.39881134033203125
1,051-1,100 CP = 120.699405670166015625‬
1,101-1,150 CP = 60.3497028350830078125‬
1,151-1,200 CP = 30.17485141754150390625
1,201-1,250 CP = 15.087425708770751953125‬
1,251-1,300 CP = 7.5437128543853759765625‬
1,301-1,350 CP = 3.77185642719268798828125‬
1,351-1,400 CP = 1.885928213596343994140625‬
1,401-1,450 CP = 0.9429641067981719970703125‬ (Maybe 1 guy)

At the upper ed of that scale characters might quickly acquire extra points in social advantages (Wealth, Status, etc...). Depending on what point total the individuals started with, this might be enough to bring them into the low end of what Supers calls high power:

Originally Posted by Supers page 18

High-Power: 1,600-6,400 points. The heroes are a significant threat to governments; dealing with them may be an important political issue. Good for a world-shakers campaign, or to weird heroes who spend most of their time dealing with alien dimensions and mysterious inhuman powers.

[AlexanderHowl]

A few dozen high powered individuals out of a few hundred million superhuman is probably not that bad. They will probably be celebrities, similar to The Seven in The Boys .

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

A few dozen high powered individuals out of a few hundred million superhuman is probably not that bad. They will probably be celebrities, similar to The Seven in The Boys .

Even 500 points can get you a world changer:

Genius Inventor [500]

IQ +15 [300]
Advantages: Accelerated Learning 2 [40]; Gadgeteer: Quick (Cosmic, No Die Roll Required, +100%; Cosmic, No Bugs, +50%) [125]; Intuitive Mathematician [5] Photographic Memory [10]; Versatile +4 [20]

Accelerated Learning 2 halves learning times. 1 point in an IQ, PER or WILL skill gives:
Easy: 25
Average: 24
Hard: 23
Very Hard: 22

Assuming you want to build an Amazing invention with a very hard skill:
Base 22
-8 for Amazing
+4 for Versatile
+5 for extra time
-20 for +4 Tech Levels
Effective skill 3 (No Roll Required)

4d X 30 Hours (15- 90 eight hour days)

And you've made a TL 12! Amazing item, on average you can change the world about 7 times per year.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Even 500 points can get you a world changer:

Genius Inventor [500]

IQ +15 [300]
Advantages: Accelerated Learning 2 [40]; Gadgeteer: Quick (Cosmic, No Die Roll Required, +100%; Cosmic, No Bugs, +50%) [125]; Intuitive Mathematician [5] Photographic Memory [10]; Versatile +4 [20]

Accelerated Learning 2 halves learning times. 1 point in an IQ, PER or WILL skill gives:
Easy: 25
Average: 24
Hard: 23
Very Hard: 22

Assuming you want to build an Amazing invention with a very hard skill:
Base 22
-8 for Amazing
+4 for Versatile
+5 for extra time
-20 for +4 Tech Levels
Effective skill 3 (No Roll Required)

4d X 30 Hours (15- 90 eight hour days)

And you've made a TL 12! Amazing item, on average you can change the world about 7 times per year.

What makes you think an Amazing item would change the world?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

What makes you think an Amazing item would change the world?

The fact that it's TL12 in a TL8 world.

[zoncxs]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

A quick google gives 8,100,000,000 as an estimate for global population in 2025. 6.25% of that is 506,250,000.

Character points = Population in the world
...

I would take it one less step further (read what I did there? :D) and put the list like this:



Character points for powers = Population in the world

1-50 CP = 449,981,696
51-150 CP = 50,831,808
151-300 CP = 5,113,984
301-500 CP = 298,832
501-750 CP = 21,436
751-1,000 CP = 2,028
1,001-1,250 CP = 204
1,251 CP+ = 12

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by Icelander

The fact that it's TL12 in a TL8 world.

That and the fact you can set up a Production Line so everyone in the world can have one!